Try and Hope for the Best
by Mariko Azrael
Summary: Timeranger. Just when Sion is convinced he's useless, he finds reassurance in an unlikely way. Gen, spoilers for up to Case 10.


Disclaimer: Not mine

Notes: Spoilers for up to Case 10, written for the tokuholidays exchange on LiveJournal

--

Sion should have known better.

As horrible as their current situation was, as daunting as having to capture a prison's worth of escaped convicts could be… it really hadn't seemed that bad. Not to him, at least. He knew that his new teammates were more strangers than anything else (the most he knew about any of them were Domon and his pro fighting stats he had memorized back at the lab), but they didn't look at him the way the scientists had, and that alone was enough to make him like them. It also made him want to help them. He wanted to help them capture the Londarz, wanted to be useful to the people he hoped would be his friends one day.

But it was just like back at the lab.

Sion kept his eyes fixed on the monitor as he forced himself to keep working on the program. Not too long ago, he would have been thrilled to do this. Even something as simple as making sure the team's technology was running smoothly meant he was helping, after all. That he wasn't just a burden to the people that he cared for more than anything, even if he had only known them for a few weeks.

But in those few weeks Sion had learned just how useless to them he really was.

What could he do for Tatsuya when he felt overshadowed by the Asami name? Or for Yuuri when she missed her sister? And Domon…

Out of all of them, he wanted to help Domon most of all. He owed it to him; Domon had saved him. But how could he even hope to alleviate the pain to being taken away from a family when he had no idea of what a family was?

His fingers hovered over the keyboard, motionless. Everyone else was asleep; there really was no point in pretending anymore. He had been useless back at the lab, and he was useless here. All he could do was hope that the others didn't hate him too much for that.

The sight of Domon stumbling into the living room, face pale, snapped Sion out of his thoughts. Not too long ago, that would have startled him… but now he stood up and cleared off the couch for him. "Another nightmare?"

Domon didn't say anything as he plopped down on the couch. He gave Sion an almost smile. "It's kinda funny, actually. Back home, I never dreamt much, but now that I'm here…" He sighed as he leaned into the cushions. "Maybe it's because I'm breathing all the air pollution in this century. I dunno."

Sion knew it wouldn't help, but he still cared too much for Domon to not at least say it. "Domon-san, if there's anything I can do…" He stopped there, waiting for Domon to tell him thanks, but he was fine, there was nothing Sion could do for him.

"Actually, I could use some fresh air. Wanna go for a walk?"

He froze. That had not been what he had been expecting to hear… and now he had no idea what to do next. Well, actually he did, but he already knew what the end result would be.

But if Domon had responded differently, then why should the end result be the same?

"Uh, Sion?" Domon glanced at him sideways. "Would you rather stay in? You're looking weird."

"No, I'm fine. I'll go get our jackets."

--

They had stopped in a part of town that was bursting with people during the day, but now there was no one else but the two of them. He suspected that Domon had decided to rest here because of that, but the silence meant Sion couldn't ignore his thoughts anymore.

He wondered if he would ever get tired of trying. There was nothing he could do to help Domon, or anyone else on his team… but even now that he knew better, here he was. Maybe there was some small part of him, the part that had finally grown tired of medical labs and being told that he couldn't survive outside of those labs that refused to come to the logical conclusion and accept that there was nothing that he could do.

But Domon had come to **him** after his nightmare. And he had asked **him** to come along instead of walking alone.

Sion sighed internally. He'd give himself one last chance. And if his efforts proved useless yet again.. then at least he would finally see the truth.

He jumped slightly when he felt something very cold suddenly pressed against the side of his face. Domon was smiling for real as he sat down next to him. "Sorry, couldn't help myself." He handed Sion one of the sodas he'd gone to buy. "You're worse than my brother when it comes to going off into your own world, you know that?"

"I'm sorry." Sion held his breath, waiting for Domon's face to darken and not want to talk anymore… but instead he shrugged as he took a sip.

"That's okay. I'm used to it."

Sion was vaguely aware of his fingers going numb from holding the soda can. Things were… going better than he had expected. In fact, it seemed that Domon was starting to relax.

But he had to know for sure.

"Domon-san, do you want to talk about the nightmare you had?"

Domon's face darkened exactly the way he had expected. "I can't."

"Of course, I'm sorry, I just--"

"You just wanted to help, I know." Domon cut him off as he waved a hand at him. "But just wait before you assume the worst, okay?" He took off his hat, resting it on the bench they were resting on. "I can't tell you because it wasn't a nightmare." He looked at Sion for a second, and then at nothing. "It was the best dream I'd had in my life."

He sighed heavily as he ran a hand through his hair. "I dreamt that I was home again-- no Londarz, no Time Bureau, just me and my family. It was so real… and then I wake up to this," he said as he made a sweeping motion of the city.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could do something to help."

Domon's lips curled again, but it was too bitter to really be considered a smile this time. "Can you bring me back to my family?"

Somewhere in the back of Sion's mind he knew he was speaking too quickly to be understood, but he had to reach Domon now before it was too late for both of them. "I know, a-and I know it's not much help, but I was thinking since you're alone and I'm alone, maybe… maybe I could be your family until you go home. Tatsuya-san, Yuuri-san and Ayase-san could be too, since they don't have anyone else, either. I know it wouldn't be the same, but I… I…"

It was over. He had failed-- again. Not only had he proven his perpetual uselessness to the person he wanted to help more that anyone else in the world, Domon was going to hate him for it. And he had every right to, after he had suggested something so stupid--

"I think I'd like that."

"… You would?"

"Well, maybe not the part of having Ayase as a relative, but every family's gotta have a black sheep, right?" Domon nudged him as he put back on his hat. "And anything's better than spending the rest of my time here completely alone."

"I know how you feel." Sion took the hand Domon offered him as they stood up. "I still wish I could do more, though."

Domon shrugged as he led the way back home. "Sometimes all you can do is try and hope for the best, you know?"

"Yes. I know."


End file.
